just jill...

a milestone of sorts...

I missed (by a couple of days...) the anniversary of this blog! 6 years. Wow, I don't think I've done anything consistent for 6 years. Well, except for being married, biting my nails and failing to make my bed every day.

I remember when I first started writing here, I had no clue what I was doing. At least that hasn't changed, I still don't. But over the years, it sure has been fun sharing some of my memories, some of my life's happenings that I think are funny and just all around getting to know others out there in this world we call the wide web. Or something like that.

In the last 6 years I've...

had 5 jobs... (ouch, that sounds worse out loud)
moved 2 times...
cooked a Christmas Turkey (first and last apparently...)
reconnected with some great old friends...
met lots of new ones...
almost pee'd my poodle skirt...
had surgery on my broken my ankle...
fell even more in love with TL...
tried to high five a one armed man...
missed my mom more and more every day...
grown closer to my niece and nephews whom all, I simply adore...
had some success with the whole purse making business...
watched a LOT of reality tv...
lost both of my in-laws...
learned html...
found Flickr...
made a snowman with TL...
the list goes on and on! But mostly, I've just had a lot of fun with this little site of mine. I know I don't always take the best care of it, but I can't ever imagine not having it. It's my little space in the world where I get to have a voice, even if it's mostly just "jibber jabber."

If you're a new reader or a long-time reader, I sincerely want to thank you for stopping by. Here's to another 6 years OR MORE!!

halloween 2009...

Well, Halloween 2009 has come and gone. I mostly have great memories of Halloween's past... Well, except for that one year I dressed up as a clown and my mom painted my face. With REAL paint. Acrylic paint. The kind that sticks to your skin and makes it itch and also makes you want to peel it off so that it doesn't hurt anymore and then you lose the contest because your face no longer looks like a clown, but more like a clown who was beat up by those kind of people who hate clowns. Yeah, that year not so much my fave.

TL was way into it this year. This is the guy who usually says very little. The most I usually hear from him is things like; "Shhh, it's quiet time..!" or "Are you still talking..?" or "Shhh, it's quiet time..!" Out of the( almost) 18 years I've known him, I've only known him to dress up on Halloween or any other time, ummm let's see, NEVER! But this year he was determined to win the "Big Prize" at his work. They were giving away $250.00 to the top costume... I present to you: "One Night Stand"


1st Place...!!

Oh, and I had to get in the game also... It's an oldie, but a goodie!!


Millie loves her Milkshakes... and by Milkshakes, I mean Champagne!!

yes, my parents were (are) awesome...

I stumbled onto this cool site... My Parents were Awesome..." And, then found myself clicking, clicking and clicking, and looking into all the faces of these "Awesome Parents." Some of my favorites; Edward and Ethel, David and Bonny, Pat, and Chantel and Phillipe. Cool Cats!! There are some great shots indeed. Of course I had to send some that I have in my archives. Because, yes, my parents were awesome too! But you already knew that.

Tom and Pat Spear... Circa: 1960
Mallorca, Spain

a look back at the man I call dad...

T. Edward. That is what he likes to call himself. I call him Dad or sometimes I even like to call him the "King of the Bandwagon..." 'Cause, that is what he is, a bandwagon fan. Whatever team is "winning" that is who he roots for. I guess it's actually a pretty good strategy. My dad is pretty funny. You all would really like him. He's a tad quiet, bit of a loner, quite smart, and even more than that, he's very practical. He has a dry sense of humor and has a storage shed full of one liners. All the lesson's I've learned in life about "doing the right thing, paying it on time, and respecting those who are older (and wiser) than myself," all come from him. Trust me, he taught the lessons for years and years, but only does it seem that recently it's all "clicked in" for me. Much to his chagrin, I'm sure.

The cowboy in him helps him to be laid back... he grew up in Oklahoma, where his own dad was a cattleman. He was a city boy, but we don't like to mention that, as in his mind he's all about the horses and the farm land. He rides horses and wears cowboy boots and even though he probably shouldn't anymore, loves his steaks.  The Military is where he learned his discipline. The Air Force took him all over the world, and he had a pretty awesome view I'm sure, when he flew those F-4's and other various planes. He said good-bye after putting 20 years in and retired as a Lt. Col. I'm sure he saw a lot of things during the war time, that nobody should ever have to endure, but he did and even though he says he came back a different person all those years ago, to me he always seemed just like my dad.

Today he celebrates his... dare I say it, yes I think I must. Today he celebrates his 73rd Birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad... ("ps, Your Yankee's are going DOWN!!")

All of these shots are Circa: 1960's... taken in Hawaii and Arizona...

 
"You Da Man..."
On second thought,
You Da OLD Man!"

this just makes me smile...

I know, I know... I suck. I HAVE to make a bigger effort to get over here and post more often. I'm just in a phase of, "I'm sooo boooring" lately. It's true. I am. Boring, I mean. But, I've got some things cooking, so I promise even if I think I'm the only one who cares, I'll share it here. Because, hey it wouldn't be the first time I speak and nobody listens. That's for sure!

And in honor of my upcoming mammogram I give you this...

I heart this video... I only wish I was in it!!

strange happenings...

I found Patty... the one from my past.  The singer, the girl I was in awe of when I was 6 years old. The girl I wanted to change my name from Jill to Patty for... She's alive and well.

It's taken me a few weeks to wrap my brain around her current story. It's a bit involved. I don't really have all the facts, so I don't want to say much, but she's written a book that I've had to order on-line. Once I've received it, and read it, I will probably reveal more. I'm just in a little bit of shock right now.

On a more personal note... I'm trying to be all healthy and shit. Yep, I've succumbed to my 45-ness and had to get real. I guess you can say I've gone "all Dr. Phil" on myself. To be honest with you, so far it hasn't really been that hard. But, I don't want to jinx myself or anything, I mean it's only been 11 days.

My motto so far has been, "It's all in the planning!!" You plan, you don't fail. Simple really. I usually don't like to go public with such information, because it's all the more annoying when you've got people asking you, "So, how's that whole health thing working out for ya..?" and it always seems that right as they're asking me these questions, I've got the deer in the headlights look and a donut (or two) in my pocket just waiting to be eaten by me as soon as this annoying questioner leaves the room. I don't like eyes. I don't like accountability. So the less people know about my quest, the better. It's as if when I'm accountable to someone else, I feel the desire to "cheat" all the more. For most people it works the other way around, but for me, not so much. So, for now all I'm saying is... "A dog never pee'd on a moving car..." (that's another Dr. Phil-ism) I'll keep you posted. Maybe.

We sure have had a wonderful summer around here. I don't mean to brag and all. But, seriously. Niiice. Here are some shots from the past few weekends...

Carlsbad, California...


Ryan and Taylor enjoying Huntington Beach...  
Summer is ' "hanging on...!"

make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other's gold...

Last weekend I traveled up to the San Francisco Bay area to reunite with my 2 childhood best friends. I met Tina and Diana (sisters) back in 1974 as Tina and I were entering the 5th grade and Diana was entering the 4th grade. The 3 of us hit it off right away and over the years, it's been such a blessing to call them my bff's.

The 3 of us have been through so much as you can imagine... It always seemed like every other year, I would be closer to one or the other. In the 5th Grade, Diana and I were fast buddies; playing board games on their front porch, lying on the hood of their mom's station wagon singing songs, and complaining about the other neighborhood girls who we didn't like much. We'd laugh at each other's jokes, make fun of each other's feet, and promised to be "best friends forever!"

In the 7th grade, as Tina and I moved on to the middle school, we began to get much closer. She and I began to learn of grown up things like "boys and booze." (Don't gasp, we both turned out alright...) We had classes together, passed notes to each other, took the bus to the beach with the "cool crowd," wore yellow gym shorts every day in P.E. and promised to be "best friends forever!"

This trend continued on until high school, back and forth every other year it seemed, one sister or the other and I were just always close. I remember being devastated the summer their dad told them they were "moving away..." In one packing of a U-haul truck, I lost my two best friends. That was the summer before my Junior year, and let's just say that was the saddest year of all time. I missed them so much and had a hard time making new friends. Eventually, they each made their way back to California and even after several years of seperation, it always seemed like we could just slip right back into that "best friends forever" mode.

Over the years, we 3 have been through so much together. Through all the ups and downs and moves all over the country, we've just made it through. Seeing them again this trip proved to me that having two people in the world who know you, faults and all and still love you no matter what, is priceless.  They've both been there for every break-up, every cry fest, all those troubled 20's years, we all went to Chippendales and watched practically naked men dance around, we've laughed until we cried (or pee'd my pants) I was in Diana's wedding, Tina was there the night I met TL, they both know my mom from way back and get it when I say how much I miss her... I mean, these are the stories of my life and when I think about it, they're the ones who've been there, they have my back, I have theirs, we have history that nobody else can share. They get it. They get me. I get it, and I get them.

I love them both and now their extended families with all of my heart. This little trip nourished me, filled my heart with love and gratitude indeed. And, I especially love that we've been able to keep our promise to each other to be "best friends forever..!"

Diana, Jill and Tina... BFF's!

 And if you'd like to see more, here is the rest of my trip...

a belated post about my birthday...

Um, Palm Springs was hot. As in Palm Springs hot... Just as I expected, I could be found either in the swimming pool or in the a/c. We had a great time. We spent time at the Rancho Mirage resort, a couple of nice restaurants and the Agua Caliente Casino. It was just an all around fabulous vacay. Happy Birthday to me.

           
Our weekend Abode... Note how I like to have my bar no more than 3 feet away from my sleep zone...  
                   
The Hog's Breath Inn for a Dirty Harry Burger and a Birthday-tini...  

Happy 4th of July... I enjoyed my little breakfast before we got picked up for the pool...
 
The pool was so refreshing, especially since I had my handy-dandy margarita filled squirt gun...

                           
Thank you TL for my lovely birthday weekend...

  
Later that night, I won $300 dollars on the Crap table. I was definitely Caliente...

 I didn't even miss the seeing the fireworks.

what's "new" on jill's ipod...

Random 10...

Ya Boy ~ We Run LA...

Rhianna ~ Breaking Dishes...

The Dream & Kanye West ~ Walking on the Moon...

Jason Mraz ~ Curbside Prophet...

John Mellencamp ~ Human Wheels...

Kris Allen ~ Falling Slowly...

Heart ~ Straight On...

The Pretenders ~ Mystery Achievement...

James Morrison & Nelly Furtado ~ Broken Strings...

Diane Birch ~ Valentino...

just when you thought I was back...

I'm going on vacation... Off to Palm Springs for the long weekend. We're gonna celebrate my new job, our Country's Birthday and mine too.

You can trust that I'll either be in the airconditioning or the pool. With cocktail in hand of course.

See ya...